Ismā‘īl Husnī writes about what happened in the recent match between Egypt and Algeria for World Cup qualification.

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Egyptians have suffered pain, anger, and insult in recent days. Once, they were a people who were never shaken by merely losing a football match. However, the pain Egyptians feel nowadays is not because they lost the match. It is rather because they saw before their eyes the dream of Arabism, which they had sacrificed so much for, fading fast. At the same time, they were betrayed by fellow Arabs who had been claiming that they would support Egypt no matter what.They feel the pain because the media, which was supposed to represent the sound of reason, did not care about their feelings. On the contrary, it started to increase this feeling of anger and tension through propaganda. Ministries and official bodies failed to control the media. They also failed to warn the people about going to Sudan. As a result, they faced attacks and insults instead of peacefully watching the match.Husnī then comments that what happened to Egyptians in Sudan should not be ignored. It is true that Egypt is like a big sister to all Arab countries but those sisters should show this respect. Accordingly, Egyptians should see official action to retain the Egyptian pride.“Although we are not asking the government to take any unplanned action that might result in threats to our national security,” Husnī writes, “it is the time to think seriously of our relationship with other countries. It is the time to put clear policies and red lines to protect the rights and dignity of Egyptians.”Husnī then calls everyone to take advantage of this spirit of nationalism and direct it towards real national concerns. This includes issues like that of water, bread, education and transportation. He also calls young leaders in the National Democratic Party to meet with the people in order to be able to know what they really need in order to develop this country.